Oscar Palmer Robertson was born November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee. His mother and father's names were Mazell and Bailey. He has two brothers, Bailey Jr and Henry. He was named as a young child "The Big O". He grew up in a segregated housing project in Indianapolis. Robertson had a troubled childhood, plagued in racism and poverty. Because of his troubled childlife, he was known to be sullen and prone to violent outbreaks. In contrast to many other boys who preferred baseball back then, Oscar drawn himself to basketball because it was then a poor kids game. Since he couldn't afford a basketball of his own, he learned how to shoot by tossing tennis balls and rags bound with rubber bands into a peach basket behind his family's home.
In 1954, Oscar Robertson attended Crispus Attucks High School, a segregated all-black school. As a sophomore, he played on an Attucks team that lost in the state quarterfinals against Milan, whose story would later be the basis of the 1986 movie classic Hoosiers. He then won two straight championships in his junior and senior year. His team went 31-1 in his junior year, and an undefeated 31-0 in his senior year. Crispus Attucks High School became the first all black team to win the state championship and the first team in the state of Indiana to secure a winning streak of 45 games. He was named Mr. Basketball in his senior year, averaging 24 points prior to that year. The celebration for this great team was short live because of the whites in the town of Indianapolis driving them out. "They thought we were going to tear up downtown" said Robertson in the Indianapolis Star. After he graduated, he attended the University of Cincinnati. In his remarkable three years, he average in amazing 33.8 points per game, third highest in college basketball history. In each of those years, he won the national scoring title, named All-American and College Player of the Year, and setting 14 NCAA records and 19 school records. He led the University of Cincinnati to a 79-9 record including two Final Four appearances. Despite his successful college career, he still dealt with racism. He was the fifth black player on the team and had to stay in college dorms while the rest of the team got to stay in hotels.
After college, he and the great Jerry West co-captained the USA basketball team in 1960. The team went undefeated and won the gold medal. This team was recognized as the greatest assemblage of amateur basketball talent ever. Shortly after that, he was drafted third in the NBA to the Cincinnati Royals. The Royals gave him a $33,000 signing bonus, a far cry from his childhood days when he couldn't even afford a basketball. He continued to dominate his opposition in the professional level averaging 30.5 points, 10 rebounds and 9.7 assists in his rookie year while achieving Rookie of the Year. His 1961-62 season went down into NBA history, being the first and only player to average a triple double, averaging 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds per game. He went on for years with almost triple double averages but played on an under-achieving team that failed to reach the NBA Finals. He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1970-71 season, teaming up with Lew Alcindor, who is now the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar. In that season, they had a league best 66-16 record including a 20 game win streak. They dominated the post-season and won the NBA Championship by beating the Baltimore Bullets.
Oscar Robertson did many things after his retirement from basketball by staying involved within the community and helping African Americans in cities such as his childhood place Indianapolis. He was honored by both teams he played for in his NBA career by having his jersey retired ( #1 for the Milwaukee Bucks and #14 for is now the Sacramento Kings. In 1994, he was awarded a bronze statue in Milwaukee in honor of his career. In 1998, the NCAA changed the name for the College Player of the Year to the Oscar Robertson trophy because of him winning the first two awards ever. He also written a book called " The Art Of Basketball: A Guide to Self-Improvement in the Fundamentals of the Game in 1998. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from the University of Cincinnati for both philanthropic and entrepeneurial efforts. As you can see he had an amazing career and will always be recognized for leading the way for NBA players and recognized for being one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball.
In 1954, Oscar Robertson attended Crispus Attucks High School, a segregated all-black school. As a sophomore, he played on an Attucks team that lost in the state quarterfinals against Milan, whose story would later be the basis of the 1986 movie classic Hoosiers. He then won two straight championships in his junior and senior year. His team went 31-1 in his junior year, and an undefeated 31-0 in his senior year. Crispus Attucks High School became the first all black team to win the state championship and the first team in the state of Indiana to secure a winning streak of 45 games. He was named Mr. Basketball in his senior year, averaging 24 points prior to that year. The celebration for this great team was short live because of the whites in the town of Indianapolis driving them out. "They thought we were going to tear up downtown" said Robertson in the Indianapolis Star. After he graduated, he attended the University of Cincinnati. In his remarkable three years, he average in amazing 33.8 points per game, third highest in college basketball history. In each of those years, he won the national scoring title, named All-American and College Player of the Year, and setting 14 NCAA records and 19 school records. He led the University of Cincinnati to a 79-9 record including two Final Four appearances. Despite his successful college career, he still dealt with racism. He was the fifth black player on the team and had to stay in college dorms while the rest of the team got to stay in hotels.
After college, he and the great Jerry West co-captained the USA basketball team in 1960. The team went undefeated and won the gold medal. This team was recognized as the greatest assemblage of amateur basketball talent ever. Shortly after that, he was drafted third in the NBA to the Cincinnati Royals. The Royals gave him a $33,000 signing bonus, a far cry from his childhood days when he couldn't even afford a basketball. He continued to dominate his opposition in the professional level averaging 30.5 points, 10 rebounds and 9.7 assists in his rookie year while achieving Rookie of the Year. His 1961-62 season went down into NBA history, being the first and only player to average a triple double, averaging 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds per game. He went on for years with almost triple double averages but played on an under-achieving team that failed to reach the NBA Finals. He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1970-71 season, teaming up with Lew Alcindor, who is now the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar. In that season, they had a league best 66-16 record including a 20 game win streak. They dominated the post-season and won the NBA Championship by beating the Baltimore Bullets.
Oscar Robertson did many things after his retirement from basketball by staying involved within the community and helping African Americans in cities such as his childhood place Indianapolis. He was honored by both teams he played for in his NBA career by having his jersey retired ( #1 for the Milwaukee Bucks and #14 for is now the Sacramento Kings. In 1994, he was awarded a bronze statue in Milwaukee in honor of his career. In 1998, the NCAA changed the name for the College Player of the Year to the Oscar Robertson trophy because of him winning the first two awards ever. He also written a book called " The Art Of Basketball: A Guide to Self-Improvement in the Fundamentals of the Game in 1998. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from the University of Cincinnati for both philanthropic and entrepeneurial efforts. As you can see he had an amazing career and will always be recognized for leading the way for NBA players and recognized for being one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball.